Politics - Atheist Nexus2016-12-10T02:58:52Zhttp://atheistnexus.org/forum/categories/politics-1/listForCategory?categoryId=2182797%3ACategory%3A10173&feed=yes&xn_auth=noPost-Truth UStag:atheistnexus.org,2016-12-07:2182797:Topic:27226832016-12-07T19:26:03.204ZRuth Anthony-Gardnerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RuthAnthonyGardner
<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/to-family-friends-and-peers-who-voted-for-trump_us_582e6b1fe4b08c963e343d23" target="_blank">Post-Truth Nation</a></p>
<p>Samuel Spitale's assessment of the US is 100% on target.</p>
<blockquote><p><a href="http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/582eb26b1a00002300cc895d.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/582eb26b1a00002300cc895d.jpg?width=300" width="300"></img></a> ... the election of Donald Trump. To put it simply, the only ones celebrating his victory are the…</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/to-family-friends-and-peers-who-voted-for-trump_us_582e6b1fe4b08c963e343d23" target="_blank">Post-Truth Nation</a></p>
<p>Samuel Spitale's assessment of the US is 100% on target.</p>
<blockquote><p><a href="http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/582eb26b1a00002300cc895d.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/582eb26b1a00002300cc895d.jpg?width=300" class="align-center" width="300"/></a>... the election of Donald Trump. To put it simply, the only ones celebrating his victory are the <a href="http://abc7.com/news/large-kkk-group-plans-to-celebrate-trump-election-with-parade/1602389/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">KKK</a>, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/russia-celebrates-trump-nears-election-day-victory-article-1.2865220" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Russia</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/09/islamist-extremists-celebrate-trumps-election-win/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">ISIS</a>, and American conservatives.</p>
<p>This fact alone should disturb anyone who voted for him, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/world/americas/western-liberal-democracy.html?smid=fb-share&amp;mtrref=www.facebook.com&amp;gwh=1AE78B95CB71C54B6B3A0FDFFE221EA0&amp;gwt=pay&amp;_r=0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">but the magnitude of this election</a>, and its inevitable repercussions, <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2015/03/10/fran-lebowitz-capitalism-triumphed-communism-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">are not registering with the populace</a>.</p>
<p>Make no mistake, <a href="http://billmoyers.com/story/farewell-america/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">the Trump presidency is a national tragedy</a>.</p>
<p>Trump’s election to the presidency is tragic because it marks a turning point in world politics. November 8, 2016 is the day that proved Americans could no longer differentiate between fact and fiction.</p>
<p>We are living in a “<a href="http://fusion.net/story/318668/this-one-paragraph-perfectly-sums-up-what-the-brexit-vote-says-about-modern-politics/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">post-truth</a>” nation.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.tes.com/sites/default/files/styles/news_article_hero/public/news_article_images/trump_3_0.jpg?itok=Y7nOv9L0" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.tes.com/sites/default/files/styles/news_article_hero/public/news_article_images/trump_3_0.jpg?itok=Y7nOv9L0&amp;width=450" class="align-center" width="450"/></a><a href="https://www.tes.com/us/news/breaking-views/teachers-need-challenge-lies-and-conspiracy-theories-peddled-our-post" target="_blank">image source</a></p>
<blockquote><p>This is not a disagreement about policy or <a href="http://www.samuelcspitale.com/#%21GOODBYE-MIDDLE-CLASS-Part-15-The-Psychology-of-Ideology/c1sbz/2015/12/23/GOODBYE-MIDDLE-CLASS-Part-15-The-Psychology-of-Ideology" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">ideology</a>. It is much more complex than being on a certain side of an issue.</p>
<p><strong>It’s about the ability to differentiate news from noise.</strong></p>
<p>... <strong><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/134667/conservatives-groomed-perfect-suckers-trumps-epic-scam" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">if you voted for Trump</a>, <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/06/30/donald_trump_is_the_inevitable_result_of_decades_of_gop_denial_of_reality.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">you have been manipulated by the same power structure you thought you were overturning</a>.</strong></p>
<p>One of the oldest political tricks is to undermine the messenger, especially when you can’t disagree with the message. Republican strategists have perfected this, and <a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/local/opinion/article/Rove-s-dirty-tricks-Let-us-count-the-ways-1246665.php" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Karl Rove has made a career out of it.</a></p>
<p>Instead of battling the Clintons on issues, Gingrich led Congressional Republicans to play dirty and tarnish their reputations instead.</p>
<p>The truth is that <a href="http://m.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/08/hillary-clinton-one-americas-most-honest-politicians" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Clinton is one of the most honest politicians in America</a>, regardless of popular opinion.</p>
<p>By comparison, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/05/15/donald_trump_is_a_serial_liar_more_upsetting_is_that_no_one_seems_to_care_partner/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Donald Trump lies more than he tells the truth</a>, regardless of whatever image he sells.</p>
<p><a href="http://billmoyers.com/story/donald-trump-and-the-walter-winchell-effect/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">But that hypocrisy doesn’t register with the average voter.</a></p>
<p>consider the Clinton email scandal. <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2016/09/23/george-w-bush-white-house-lost-22-million-emails-497373.html?rx=us" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Newsweek</a>:</p>
Clinton’s email habits look positively transparent when compared with the subpoena-dodging, email-hiding, private-server-using George W. Bush administration. Between 2003 and 2009, the Bush White House “lost” 22 million emails.<br/>
<p>By comparison, Clinton lost 33,000 emails, most of which were private. She was exonerated by the investigation, but the myth of her corruption prevails.</p>
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<p><a href="https://images.kashmirobserver.in/assets/container/styles/large/public/media/article-images/2016/47/truth.jpg?itok=GPzXaSEP" target="_blank"><img src="https://images.kashmirobserver.in/assets/container/styles/large/public/media/article-images/2016/47/truth.jpg?itok=GPzXaSEP&amp;width=450" class="align-center" width="450"/></a><a href="https://kashmirobserver.net/2016/opinions/post-truth-world-12219" target="_blank">image source</a></p>
<blockquote><p>Several conservative attack dogs have renounced their own party to expose such deceit, like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Republican-Noise-Machine-Right-Wing-Democracy/dp/B000FVQV16" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">David Brock</a>, who founded the media watchdog group <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Media Matters</a>, and former Congressman <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Party-Over-Republicans-Democrats-Useless/dp/0143124218/ref=pd_sbs_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_i=0143124218&amp;pd_rd_r=JBW1CXCDAHJNMXHXB8S3&amp;pd_rd_w=uf7S9&amp;pd_rd_wg=v5HnX&amp;psc=1&amp;refRID=JBW1CXCDAHJNMXHXB8S3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Mike Lofgren</a>.</p>
<p>The idea that Hillary is crooked – or at least more so than other politicians – is a myth repeated so many times, it clearly no longer matters if it’s true.</p>
<p>This effect is known as the “<a href="http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/12/the-illusion-of-truth.php" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">illusion of truth</a>” – when you hear certain information so many times, you believe it, regardless of its accuracy. Political lies stay with us not because of their authenticity, but because manipulative campaign strategists understand psychology.</p>
<p><strong>For instance, if you believe Democrats tax and spend more, then congratulations –</strong> <strong>you’ve been manipulated</strong>.</p>
<p>This is little more than another campaign strategy used to mislead voters.</p>
<p>Consider the reality: <a href="http://www.scottporad.com/2012/06/25/debunking-myths-democrats-are-tax-and-spend-liberals/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Almost every Democrat since World War II has decreased the debt, whereas all the Republicans since Richard Nixon have increased the debt.</a></p>
<p><strong>Furthermore, if you think Democrats increase the size of government, while Republicans reduce it, then congratulations – you’ve been manipulated yet again</strong>.</p>
<p>The reality is that Reagan and Bush Jr. are the worst offenders and increased both spending and size of government the most. <a href="http://www.samuelcspitale.com/#%21GOODBYE-MIDDLE-CLASS-Part-10-Tear-Down-this-Myth/c1sbz/2015/12/16/GOODBYE-MIDDLE-CLASS-Part-10-Tear-Down-this-Myth" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The notion that Reagan cut the size of government was propaganda used to mislead the nation – and it worked</a>. <a href="https://mises.org/library/sad-legacy-ronald-reagan-0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The singular reason we have so much debt today is because of Reagan</a>. And then because of Bush’s wars fought on credit.</p>
<p>Demagogues like Donald Trump have helped focus resentment, fear, uncertainty and <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/05/29/donald_trump_exposes_the_gops_dirty_secret_they_build_everything_by_nurturing_white_rage/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">anger by blaming the poor and immigrants</a>, who are in no way responsible for any of our predicaments. Instead of focusing anger at the REAL culprits - <a href="http://www.samuelcspitale.com/#%21GOODBYE-MIDDLE-CLASS-Part-9-TrickleDown-Voodoo-Reaganomics-Or-BS-by-Any-Other-Name/c1sbz/2015/12/15/GOODBYE-MIDDLE-CLASS-Part-9-TrickleDown-Voodoo-Reaganomics-Or-BS-by-Any-Other-Name" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">the business class, Republicans, Wall Street, the 1 percent</a> - Trump chose to demonize the most helpless members of society.</p>
<p>And we rewarded his behavior with the presidency.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/world/trump-global-reaction.html?smid=fb-share" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">This is why other countries are freaking out</a>. <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/18/12210500/diagnosed-dysfunction-republican-party" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">To them, we have just elected the very people who have screwed us over.</a></p>
<p>Why do we continue to trust Republicans to steer the economy when Republican presidents and governors <a href="http://www.samuelcspitale.com/single-post/2016/06/14/GOODBYE-MIDDLE-CLASS-Part-3-Increasing-Poverty-Declining-Health" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">leave us in worse shape?</a></p>
<p>Because in this day and age, <span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong><span class="font-size-3">we can no longer differentiate between fact and fiction</span></strong></span>. [orange emphasis mine]</p>
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<p><a href="https://mindyourbrain1.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/fotolia_100983715_s.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://mindyourbrain1.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/fotolia_100983715_s.jpg?width=450" class="align-center" width="450"/></a><a href="https://mind-your-brain.net/2016/08/22/fact-or-fiction/" target="_blank">image source</a></p>
<blockquote><p><strong>It is because of the lies and distortions that liberals and conservatives can no longer reach common ground, as only one group is grounded in reality.</strong></p>
<p>In 2002, Karl Rove dismissed journalists as being part of the “reality-based community.” He explained:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/us-karl-rove-iraq-crisis" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">“That’s not the way the world works anymore. We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality.”</a></p>
<p>Rove would know, as he’s spent the majority of his life constructing false narratives and selling them to the public like an ad agency shills laundry detergent. His words go a long way to explaining why so many Americans are so misinformed – <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/134667/conservatives-groomed-perfect-suckers-trumps-epic-scam" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">because that’s exactly how conservatives want it</a><em>.</em></p>
<p><em>This is why Big Business and <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1987-06-21/news/mn-8908_1_fairness-doctrine" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Republicans</a> dismantled <a href="http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1880786,00.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Fairness Doctrine, which required news outlets to show equal sides of an argument</a>. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=lv-HcSVoaJgC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=man+who+sold+the+world&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwinqe76sbHQAhVCrVQKHW-dBXIQ6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&amp;q=man%20who%20sold%20the%20world&amp;f=false" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Conservatives targeted this legislation because they wanted to fight facts they didn’t like.</a></em></p>
<p>Nixon’s war propagandists began blaming the messenger, i.e., the “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Liberal-Media-Truth-About/dp/0465001769/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1480135123&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=what+liberal+media" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">liberal media</a>”. (Remember, when you cannot counter a message or refute the evidence, you must attack the messenger - hence the use of the terms, “liberal elites,” “<a href="http://www.alternet.org/media/15-things-americans-would-know-if-there-were-liberal-media" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">liberal media</a>”, “gotcha questions,” etc.) <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2LPDv6olcJkC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=roger+ailes&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi0yq6Ms7HQAhWEwVQKHRVbA44Q6AEILzAD#v=onepage&amp;q=roger%20ailes&amp;f=false" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Nixon’s chief propagandist was Roger Ailes, who was responsible for blurring the lines between news and propaganda in regards to the Vietnam War.</a> <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=MUeI-kpV3g8C&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=roger+ailes&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi0yq6Ms7HQAhWEwVQKHRVbA44Q6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&amp;q=roger%20ailes&amp;f=false" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">This is why he was hired to run Fox News.</a> Reality has been debatable ever since, as outlets like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Effect-Network-Propaganda-Machine/dp/0307279588/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1480058589&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=fox+effect" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Fox News turn smearing the opposition into a full-time job</a>.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2015/03/10/fran-lebowitz-capitalism-triumphed-communism-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">capitalist culture</a>, information should not be a commodity. Truth should not be a brand. Disinformation should not be a product.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.samuelcspitale.com/#%21GOODBYE-MIDDLE-CLASS-Part-15-The-Psychology-of-Ideology/c1sbz/2015/12/23/GOODBYE-MIDDLE-CLASS-Part-15-The-Psychology-of-Ideology" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">This is not a debate between two ideologies</a><strong>. This is a showdown between myth and reality. And last week, reality lost.</strong></p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/I-AtEFIik0UuNe93ToZp2A6W5Svb3t7BabRXzdIjw3hMVqC1PxYBlq0BNrPgkaHipI77h3JUOsVUDRq96DiaMwAdgwrq6Qr7/eyeeh.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/I-AtEFIik0UuNe93ToZp2A6W5Svb3t7BabRXzdIjw3hMVqC1PxYBlq0BNrPgkaHipI77h3JUOsVUDRq96DiaMwAdgwrq6Qr7/eyeeh.jpg" class="align-center" width="405"/></a></strong></p>
<blockquote><p><a href="http://billmoyers.com/story/farewell-america/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">If you are not terrified for our country’s future</a>, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/08/the_week_democracy_died_how_brexit_nice_turkey_and_trump_are_all_connected.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">then you are not well enough informed to even be part of the conversation</a>. <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trumps-presidency-could-literally-mean-the-end-of-their-world/?utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=socialflow" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">And by the time everyone grasps the magnitude of our disaster, it will be too late.</a></p>
<p>Trump has taken <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Outrage-Industry-Political-Incivility-Development/dp/0190498463/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1480135269&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=outrage+industry" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Rush Limbaugh’s outrage</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Effect-Network-Propaganda-Machine/dp/0307279588/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1480058589&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=fox+effect" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Fox News’ fabrications</a> and manipulated the American people into voting into office the very people responsible for their economic decline.</p>
<p><strong>The greatest problem of our future is not political; it is not economic; it is not even rational. It’s the battle of fact versus fiction.</strong></p>
<p>Sadly, a Trump victory illustrates that we are no longer able to distinguish between the two.</p>
</blockquote> Could Trump be emboldening Atheist activism and helping to normalize the word Atheist? Exhibit Atag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-29:2182797:Topic:27210492016-11-29T00:42:58.574ZCompelledunbelieverhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/Compelledunbeliever
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before. Rahm Emmanuel</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> I know that Trump can choose supreme Court justices that may have a serious impact on our future. I am exceeding surprised by the extremist Christians he has chosen to his staff and department heads. It will be an uphill battle, and…</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before. Rahm Emmanuel</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> I know that Trump can choose supreme Court justices that may have a serious impact on our future. I am exceeding surprised by the extremist Christians he has chosen to his staff and department heads. It will be an uphill battle, and we can get more out of it than it appears at first glance. If Hillary we elected it would be much easier for us as atheist in the short run but perhaps Trump could be even greater for our future despite himself.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> Dave Silverman stresses that we us the word Atheist and do everything we can to normalize it much like the lbgt community has done. With Trump in office we will unfortunately have to fight all his evangelical buddies legislative initiatives. This truly sucks. Eventually we will win the court battles for the most part but more importantly we will be pushed out of complacency and into action. The media will be the key. Every time some hair brained theist idea is pushed to become law WE will be there responding. We will have ten fold or more exposure to the masses that we would have if Hillary was elected.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> Remember when it comes to humanist ideas, we are always right. That is, <strong>all</strong> theist will not agree with us <strong>all</strong> the time but <strong>most</strong> theist will agree with humanist ideas <strong>most</strong> of the time. We as humanist are always in the majority. This will allow us much more exposure as atheist than we could have otherwise enjoyed. It will give us the opportunity to show we are compassionate, and care about human rights and freedom not only of, but from religion.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> Statistics show that we have the momentum. That is, atheist are growing at a faster rate than any religion.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Oh, exhibit A. I joined a local meet up in Colorado Springs, Colorado......Colorado Springs Free Thinkers</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> Any way, they have decided to have a special meeting to deal with Trump. The email read in part:</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> Unite Colorado Springs to resist oppression.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">With religious extremist setting up the new presidential staff, Freethinkers will be taking a spot next to the Mexicans and Muslims in the cross hairs of the right wing.(again we are part of the majority. My addition) perhaps it would be wise to join together with some of these groups........(what a great opportunity to show that atheist are good people who care about our nation. My addition)</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.meetup.com/FreethinkersCS/events/235520274/?rv=me1">https://www.meetup.com/FreethinkersCS/events/235520274/?rv=me1</a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">I hope my link works but it is really immaterial. My point is, though times may be rough Trump may provide an opportunity to promote atheist ideas as never before!</p> My response to Trumptag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-28:2182797:Topic:27209592016-11-28T07:08:23.600ZJoan Denoohttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/JoanDenoo
<p><span>My response to Trump</span></p>
<p><span>Sunday, November 27, 2016</span></p>
<ol>
<li><span>Treat every word as a statement of Trump’s values. Listen carefully to what he says. Recognize what is propaganda and what is true. Take his statements as true to his corrupt mindset. Assume what he says is what he means. </span></li>
<li><span>The issue is survival, not analysis. Listening to Trump’s threats, promises, accusations, blaming, criticizing, belittling, bullying, ultimatums,…</span></li>
</ol>
<p><span>My response to Trump</span></p>
<p><span>Sunday, November 27, 2016</span></p>
<ol>
<li><span>Treat every word as a statement of Trump’s values. Listen carefully to what he says. Recognize what is propaganda and what is true. Take his statements as true to his corrupt mindset. Assume what he says is what he means. </span></li>
<li><span>The issue is survival, not analysis. Listening to Trump’s threats, promises, accusations, blaming, criticizing, belittling, bullying, ultimatums, commitments, charges, claims, condemnations, attacks, disparaging demands, pledges, storms, declarations, and tirades, I recognize a sophomoric child in an adult body. His world comes from incoherent rage and vile visions of which I find wanting. What matters now is survival. </span></li>
<li><span>I have not heard such nonsense since the death of despotic rulers of the 1940s. Trump isn’t the kind of person I want to lead me and my country. I refuse to submit to his tyranny or yield to his demands. Trump is morally corrupt. He wants the U.S.A. to be as corrupt as he. I will have none of it. </span></li>
</ol>
<p><span>Our greatness is in our ability to respond to the needs of people, water, soils, air, and the environment. Trump is emotionally incapable of maturity. He knows only power over, never power with. When Trump takes over the institutions of power, I stand with those who are most vulnerable, and I will not give up until I have reason to believe that the mourning period is over and I can stand, shoulder to shoulder with my fellow U.S. citizens and reclaim our Republic.</span></p> Bloody Secular Persecution in the windtag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-28:2182797:Topic:27207942016-11-28T01:59:16.924ZRuth Anthony-Gardnerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RuthAnthonyGardner
<p>Steve Bannon, Special Advisor to Popular-Vote-Loser Trump, considers us barbarians as dangerous to civilization as Islamic jihadists. Expect a "brutal and bloody conflict".</p>
<p><a href="http://press.take88.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Screen-shot-2010-09-17-at-3.17.49-PM.png" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="http://press.take88.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Screen-shot-2010-09-17-at-3.17.49-PM.png"></img></a> <a href="http://press.take88.com/who-is-stephen-k-bannon/" target="_blank">image source…</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>Steve Bannon, Special Advisor to Popular-Vote-Loser Trump, considers us barbarians as dangerous to civilization as Islamic jihadists. Expect a "brutal and bloody conflict".</p>
<p><a href="http://press.take88.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Screen-shot-2010-09-17-at-3.17.49-PM.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://press.take88.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Screen-shot-2010-09-17-at-3.17.49-PM.png" class="align-center"/></a><a href="http://press.take88.com/who-is-stephen-k-bannon/" target="_blank">image source</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/what-europe-can-teach-us-about-trump-theyve-been-dealing-guys-him-decades" target="_blank">What Europe Can Teach Us About Trump: They've Been Dealing with Guys Like Him for Decades</a></p>
<blockquote><p>In a talk that he <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/this-is-how-steve-bannon-sees-the-entire-world?utm_term=.syWnVXLE4#.vxPPVzXoA">gave via Skype</a> at a conference at the Vatican in 2014, alt-right guru Steve Bannon identified three civilizational challenges: crony capitalism, creeping secularism, and "jihadist Islamic fascism." He was hard-pressed to decide which was worse – Islam or secularism – but he was very clear about the stakes:</p>
<p>"We’re at the very beginning stages of a very brutal and bloody conflict, of which if the people in this room, the people in the church, do not bind together and really form what I feel is an aspect of the church militant, to really be able to not just stand with our beliefs, but to fight for our beliefs against this new barbarity that’s starting, that will completely eradicate everything that we’ve been bequeathed over the last 2,000, 2,500 years."</p>
<p>Bannon and his co-religionists are imagining nothing short of a new crusade against Muslims and secularists.</p>
</blockquote> Our immediate future.......tag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-22:2182797:Topic:27198162016-11-22T16:56:29.469ZThomas Murrayhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/ThomasMurray
<p>Since Trump/Pence got elected as our trusted guys to run our country, my fears of terrible blotches in our American history is about to add another chapter of human violations and is about to begin. I need to see if my fears are rational or just plain silly...... some below I already knew and others here what I was to learn ..... All can be found in Wiki.....</p>
<p>The Salem Witch Hunts<br></br> Slavery of African Americans<br></br> Jim Crow Laws<br></br> Indian Land Sale/The Trial Of Tears<br></br> U.S.…</p>
<p>Since Trump/Pence got elected as our trusted guys to run our country, my fears of terrible blotches in our American history is about to add another chapter of human violations and is about to begin. I need to see if my fears are rational or just plain silly...... some below I already knew and others here what I was to learn ..... All can be found in Wiki.....</p>
<p>The Salem Witch Hunts<br/> Slavery of African Americans<br/> Jim Crow Laws<br/> Indian Land Sale/The Trial Of Tears<br/> U.S. Eugenics during Progressive Era (...forced sterilizations of 'unfit' Americans)<br/> Racial Integrity Act of 1924 (in some cases the aim was to reduce ethnic minorities)<br/> American Indian boarding schools (established by Christian missionaries of various denominations)<br/> Anti-miscegenation laws in the Southern States<br/> Public school segregations<br/> Operation Wetback<br/> Concentration camps of Cherokees and other Native Americans in the 1830s<br/> Greaser Act of 1855<br/> Anti-Coolie Act of 1862<br/> Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882<br/> Geary Act of 1892<br/> Chinese exclusion policy of NASA of 2011<br/> Ugly laws of the 1860s to 1970s ( American cities had ugly laws that deemed it illegal for persons who were "unsightly" or "unseemly" to appear in public. )<br/> One-drop rule<br/> Internment Camps of Japanese Americans<br/> Tuskegee syphilis experiment<br/> Project 4.1<br/> Numerus clausus : a policy which limited a number of specific ethnic students admitted to a university and designed in favor of white protestant students.</p>
<p>I know if I kept researching I will find more, but it is too depressing.</p> German Motto: One nation under the Crosstag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-15:2182797:Topic:27188822016-11-15T11:45:53.424ZImaginary Cat Ownerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/ImaginaryCatOwner
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/C1Uy1o3oshrC*dAQ274Zh4LOmQd5qLA*30mVXanQDq*g3l71Tw-H2yz0OsxSLMpSNCQ5y5aTVtDgwM1lbAWV48Tn34zirSXu/20161115_095557.jpg"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/C1Uy1o3oshrC*dAQ274Zh4LOmQd5qLA*30mVXanQDq*g3l71Tw-H2yz0OsxSLMpSNCQ5y5aTVtDgwM1lbAWV48Tn34zirSXu/20161115_095557.jpg?width=750" width="750"></img></a> actually, it says "Du Land unterm Kreuz"which means: "You land under the Cross". not "Your" but "you" .so I wonder why is this headstone is at the entrance of the City Hall where I live in Germany. not sure if it is bad grammar or something else</p>
<p>the sign at the bottom says: </p>
<p>"Nach…</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/C1Uy1o3oshrC*dAQ274Zh4LOmQd5qLA*30mVXanQDq*g3l71Tw-H2yz0OsxSLMpSNCQ5y5aTVtDgwM1lbAWV48Tn34zirSXu/20161115_095557.jpg"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/C1Uy1o3oshrC*dAQ274Zh4LOmQd5qLA*30mVXanQDq*g3l71Tw-H2yz0OsxSLMpSNCQ5y5aTVtDgwM1lbAWV48Tn34zirSXu/20161115_095557.jpg?width=750" width="750" class="align-full"/></a>actually, it says "Du Land unterm Kreuz"which means: "You land under the Cross". not "Your" but "you" .so I wonder why is this headstone is at the entrance of the City Hall where I live in Germany. not sure if it is bad grammar or something else</p>
<p>the sign at the bottom says: </p>
<p>"Nach totalitärem,menschenverachtendem Zwang durch Nationalsozialismus und Kommunismus nach Flucht Vertreibung wurden durch die "Ostverträge " die Grundlagen für Verständigung , Anerkennung der bestehenden Grenzen,Festigung des Friedens und der Sicherheit in Europa und der Welt geschaffen " which translated into: "After totalitarian, human-conniving coercion by national socialism and communism after expulsion, the "East Controversies" created the foundations for understanding, acknowledging existing borders, consolidating peace and security in Europe and the world"</p> It's not about Trump, it's a much better sign than it appearstag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-13:2182797:Topic:27183952016-11-13T06:39:35.201ZCompelledunbelieverhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/Compelledunbeliever
<p> This election was not about Republicans, Democrats, Trump, or Hillary, it's much deeper than that. It's a sign of the times and I believe it could be a very good one. It's about change and not the typical change we hear about in every election cycle, what ever "change" is.</p>
<p> Bernie Sanders was was relatively obscure socialist politician with little money and without the powerful backing that Hillary had. He literally gave Hillary a run for her money and nearly beat her. On the other…</p>
<p> This election was not about Republicans, Democrats, Trump, or Hillary, it's much deeper than that. It's a sign of the times and I believe it could be a very good one. It's about change and not the typical change we hear about in every election cycle, what ever "change" is.</p>
<p> Bernie Sanders was was relatively obscure socialist politician with little money and without the powerful backing that Hillary had. He literally gave Hillary a run for her money and nearly beat her. On the other side Trump beat the evangelical Christian conservatives hands down, not to mention the moderates. Again with little money and no political experience.</p>
<p> This was an all inclusive movement against the establishment. So what does this mean? There many dynamics to politics but I would like to put to microscope to just the humanist/Atheist movement not to suggest that it is the most influential of factors but merely to look at how our country has steadily become more secular and how it may apply and indicate a possible improvement to our nation.</p>
<p> We as Atheist love to look at the statistics of how exponentially more and more Americans describe themselves as unaffiliated as a religious preference. I believe the major push of this change of culture started with the hippies or flower children of the 60s. With this movement there was certainly less dependence on theist beliefs and much more focus on free thought. Since then we've had the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, the lgbti movement to name a few. All of these were anti-establishment in nature.</p>
<p>Trump was simply the most anti-establishment candidate in the running. This is not an indication people believed he was the best but simply the furthest from run of the mill politicians. This indicates a civil rebellion! So What exactly are we rebelling against? Business as usual? Perhaps a bit of theistic politics and the limitations of freedom thereof. We certainly as a nation have not gravitated towards stricter "Morality" laws.</p>
<p>I don't know what " change" is coming or even if Trump will be a good President. What I do know is that the fact that we the people have rejected the establishment is a very good sign when looking at the big picture for the humanist/Atheist community and by proxy our nation as a whole.</p> Resist the Trump victory!tag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-13:2182797:Topic:27183892016-11-13T04:19:09.645ZBergen Woodshttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/BergenWoods
<p>As I struggle to figure out what happened to our country that allowed Donald Trump to become president-elect, I hear people around me saying such things as "How did we let this happen?" and "What will happen now?". I was stunned. I dressed in black the day after the election, and went to my physical therapy session, where several of the other patients were dressed in black as well. Many people are frightened, alarmed, worried, concerned, but don't know what to do with those feelings. The…</p>
<p>As I struggle to figure out what happened to our country that allowed Donald Trump to become president-elect, I hear people around me saying such things as "How did we let this happen?" and "What will happen now?". I was stunned. I dressed in black the day after the election, and went to my physical therapy session, where several of the other patients were dressed in black as well. Many people are frightened, alarmed, worried, concerned, but don't know what to do with those feelings. The election is over. There isn't another presidential election for four whole years, so how do we deal with our feelings of betrayal, anger, fear, sorrow . . . ? Trump has already made his bigotry clear. He wants to exclude people from immigrating based on their religion. He treats women as sex objects. He wants to proliferate nuclear weapons. He is a climate change denier, and plans to reverse all efforts to save our planet from extinction-level cataclysms.</p>
<p>Many people have taken to the streets of our cities to participate in protest rallies, a form of political expression Americans have frequently turned to. For those fit and healthy enough to participate, those protest rallies are a powerful tool, and they should continue. People should respond in any way that they are physically and emotionally capable.</p>
<p>I am too old and infirm to go out and march. I'm not very good at leading groups or organizing people. But I'm very scared about the future of our nation and indeed of the world. I am from a family of German Jews, and many members of my mother's family perished in the holocaust, including my maternal grandfather. What can I do to prevent America from going the way of the Third Reich? My way of responding to the threat to our country and our planet is to help finance an organization dedicated to fighting against the Trump threat. My wife and I are not wealthy, but we are relatively financially secure, so we are choosing to donate what is to us a sizable sum each month to MoveOn.org, which states on its website:</p>
<p>"MoveOn is the largest independent, progressive, digitally-connected organizing group in the United States. Launched in 1998, MoveOn pioneered online organizing and advocacy techniques that have become standard in politics, nonprofits, and industry in the U.S. and worldwide. We combine rapid-response political campaigning with deep strategic analysis, rigorous data science and testing, and a culture of grassroots member listening and participation that allows us to consistently and quickly identify opportunities for progressive change–and mobilize millions of members to seize them. MoveOn members step up as leaders by using the MoveOn Petitions DIY organizing platform to create their own petitions and campaigns to drive social change." To learn more, go to <a href="http://front.moveon.org/about/" target="_blank">MoveOn.org</a></p>
<p>Let's all do what we can to fight this!!!</p> Crisis Cult and Terminal Declinestag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-13:2182797:Topic:27184342016-11-13T04:02:15.259ZRuth Anthony-Gardnerhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/RuthAnthonyGardner
<p><a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/its_worse_than_you_think_20161111" target="_blank">It’s Worse Than You Think</a></p>
<p>Chris Hedges' perspective on the Alt-right success is sobering.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Trump is emblematic of what anthropologists call “crisis cults.” A society in terminal decline often retreats into magical thinking.</strong> Reality is too much to bear. It places its faith in the fantastic and impossible promises of a demagogue or charlatan who promises…</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/its_worse_than_you_think_20161111" target="_blank">It’s Worse Than You Think</a></p>
<p>Chris Hedges' perspective on the Alt-right success is sobering.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Trump is emblematic of what anthropologists call “crisis cults.” A society in terminal decline often retreats into magical thinking.</strong> Reality is too much to bear. It places its faith in the fantastic and impossible promises of a demagogue or charlatan who promises the return of a lost golden age.</p>
<p>We face the most profound crisis in human history. Our response is to elect a man to the presidency who does not believe in climate change. Once societies unplug themselves from reality, those who speak truth become pariahs and enemies of the state. They are subject to severe state repression. Those lost in the reverie of the crisis cult applaud the elimination of these Cassandras. The appealing myths of magical thinking are pleasant opiates. But this narcotic, like all narcotics, leads to squalor and death. [emphasis mine]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That White Christian longing for a return early 1950's culture doesn't just signal a terminal decline of the White Nationalism they hold so dear. They're now dragging the entire planet into a climate change terminal decline, when we might have had a chance for human survival.</p>
<p><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/cWUzdktWeMsTyEh*RuX6YIDqstvhjP7QQXc3iFfCNX6MgtNnWqkUB369-dR9N8P0YJHoceUEs9fOE0y--3o4YPifsa8jaOUK/tRumpappetite.jpg" target="_self"><img src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/cWUzdktWeMsTyEh*RuX6YIDqstvhjP7QQXc3iFfCNX6MgtNnWqkUB369-dR9N8P0YJHoceUEs9fOE0y--3o4YPifsa8jaOUK/tRumpappetite.jpg?width=450" class="align-center" width="450"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/trumps-appetite-for-destruction-how-disastrous-convention-doomed-gop-w430546" target="_blank">image source</a></p>
<p>The threat from climate change is <strong>also worse than you think</strong>. We just learned that climate sensitivity is nonlinear. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/climate-change-game-over-global-warming-climate-sensitivity-seven-degrees-a7407881.html" target="_blank">This video</a> is dumbed down, the source article, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/11/e1501923.full" target="_blank">Nonlinear climate sensitivity and its implications for future green...</a>, is quite technical. It kind of says we could have 7°C rise by 2100, but Robert Scribbler thinks it only predicts 5°C rise. There's <em>a wide margin of error</em>, but the bottom line is (during the last 8 glacial cycles) climate sensitivity got stronger when the planet warmed. And since it only takes 4°C rise to destroy civilization, the prospect of 5°C rise within the next 85 years is horrific. The election alone is expected to raise global temperature at least an extra 1°C more than the path we had been on by honoring the Paris Accord, which would have resulted in 3.5°C rise by 2100.</p>
<p>In sum:</p>
<ul>
<li>With Paris Accord honored we could <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/1cf99e76bed94ae981a39a39266b2a67/paris-climate-deal-track-early-start" target="_blank">expect 3.5°C rise</a> by 2100.</li>
<li>Nonlinear climate sensitivity pushes that prediction to somewhere between 5°C rise and 7°C rise by 2100. In other words temperatures will start kicking in faster and faster as we heat up over the decades, probably from positive feedbacks.</li>
<li>Trump's ascension more or less accelerates the rise by an extra 1°C more.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.thedailysheeple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/planeteyes-300x201.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.thedailysheeple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/planeteyes-300x201.jpg" class="align-center"/></a><a href="http://www.thedailysheeple.com/french-foreign-minister-says-we-only-have-500-days-left-to-avoid-climate-chaos_052014" target="_blank">image source</a></p> ELECTORAL COLLEGE PETITIONtag:atheistnexus.org,2016-11-11:2182797:Topic:27181392016-11-11T13:03:30.380ZMichael Pennhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/DennisMichaelPennington
<p></p>
<p><a href="https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-make-hillary-clinton-president-on-december-19?recruiter=11810451&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=share_email_responsive" target="_blank">https://www.change.org/p/electoral-college-electors-electoral-college-make-hillary-clinton-president-on-december-19?recruiter=11810451&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=share_email_responsive</a></p>
<p></p>
<p> Here is a Change.Org petition that is going around. Fat chance of anything happening but they have many signatures already and the goal is 3,000,000 signatures. Can you imagine the chaos if the Electoral College decided to go against Trump at this point?</p>